White Sox get 1st sweep, reach .500

3 straight wins over Marlins makes 9 in last 12 games

The .500 mark never looked more appealing to Robin Ventura and his players.

The White Sox completed their first sweep of the season after trumping the miserable Marlins 5-3 on Sunday at U.S. Cellular Field to improve to 24-24.

"You have to get (to .500) first," the Sox manager said. "Once you're there … I think we've been on a decent run of feeling like you're going to win games. You just continue to come in with the expectation you're going to play hard and you're going to win a game."

The third-place Sox have won nine of their last 12 after starter Dylan Axelrod (3-3) trudged through 5 1/3 innings to get the win and Matt Lindstrom, Matt Thornton, Jesse Crain and Addison Reed blanked the Marlins the rest of the way. Reed earned his 17th save.

Sox outfielders Dayan Viciedo and Alex Rios each threw out a runner at the plate to keep the Marlins at bay.

"I just always believe you have to be able to play good defense," Ventura said."If you don't have those things happen, the game changes and guys are still on base. You're still down and out.

"People, for one reason or another, are trying to run on Viciedo, He's very good. When he gets it and he's timed up, he's a pretty good, accurate guy."

The Sox took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Adam Dunn's 12th homer of the season off starter Alex Sanabia (3-7). Alexei Ramirez had reached on a one-out single before Dunn took Sanabia's first pitch into the left-field bleachers. Alejandro De Aza had two doubles, including one that scored two runs in the second inning to give the Sox a 4-2 lead.

"You've got to beat people that on paper you're supposed to beat," Dunn said of the 13-37 Marlins.

The Marlins already have been swept five times this season — the Sox made it three times this month.

Axelrod allowed three straight singles to start the second inning and allowed two runs, but it could've been worse had Viciedo not nailed Chris Coghlan at the plate. The Sox moved ahead 4-2 before Axelrod walked the first two batters in the Marlins' third inning. Juan Pierre scored on a groundout to cut the Sox lead to 4-3.

"I didn't have my good stuff," Axelrod said. "I was kind of erratic in those middle innings. That was self-inflicted in the third inning when I gave up that run with the walks. But we pulled it out, so you can't be mad about it."

In the sixth inning, the Marlins' Marcell Ozuna was thrown out at the plate by Rios. Rios initially booted Justin Ruggiano's single but regrouped and threw to the plate, where Ozuna appeared to beat the throw. But catcher Hector Gimenez managed to block the plate while applying the tag for the second out.

"I threw it (home) because I thought they were going to send him," Rios said. "But it was going to be a close call anyway. So it was a risky play."

Rios gave the Sox an insurance run in the eighth with an RBI single for a 5-3 lead.